Betraying Innocence
by Digital X
Summary: A new look into Takeru and Hikari's seemingly innocent relationship that makes them 'just friends'. But is it really so innocent?
1. Last Beginnings

Betraying Innocence  
  
A/N: lala~ first time writing a fic in a while... I need to relieve stress. ^^; I started a fic with a bigger storyline, and this was going to be the second chapter, but I decided to make an entirely different fic and start over.  
I'm using their Japanese names, but I'm putting them in English order: first name, last name. Also, if they're unfamiliar with the person, they'll refer to them by the last name. ^^; But I'm taking out all the -san, -chan, -kun stuff.  
  
Time Setting: couple years after 02 ending... old DD's in college, new ones in high school  
  
Chapter 1: Last Beginnings  
  
Hikari Yagami walked into the halls of her high school. Everybody was hurrying around trying to find classes, or reuniting with old friends. She looked at all this and appreciated it for the last time. It was her last year of high school, she was a senior, at the height of her high school life, at the end of her high school life. Soon she would be at the bottom of that ladder again, the smallest, the baby, the rookie in life. It would be a new beginning.  
  
"Hikari!" a voice suddenly spoke up.  
  
Hikari turned around, seeing the owner of the voice brought her mind back to earth.  
  
"Takeru." She acknowledged him. "How are you?"  
  
"Fine," Takeru Takaishi smiled sheepishly at her, "erm... it's been a while."  
  
Hikari smiled. "Well, I guess it has been a while since we last saw each other."  
  
Takeru looked down shuffled his feet a bit. "No... I mean... it has been a while since we last saw each other, but... I... was referring... to... erm... something... else."  
  
"Oh!" Hikari blushed a deep red. "I... I guess it has! Hahaa... hahaa..." she attempted to laugh it off.  
  
Takeru looked at her sharply with his deep blue eyes. "I... missed you." And he reached out for her bare arm.  
  
Hikari quickly moved her arm out of his grasp and took a step back. "Uh... it was nice seeing you again Takeru!" she said in an overly cheerful voice. "But I've gotta run before the bell rings, don't want to be late on my first day!" Hikari took another couple of steps back, "I'll see you at lunch, I think we still have it together!" With a last wave, she walked away quickly.  
  
"Ah... wa-" with his arm still outstretched, Takeru gazed at Hikari's retreating back with a hurt look in his eyes.  
  
-----  
  
"IYAAA! LIFE IS GOOD! BINGO DA!!" Miyako Inoue stretched her arms out behind her and then relaxed him.  
  
"Miyako!" Hikari bent her head a little in embarrassment as the whole cafeteria took alot of time to stare at their table.  
  
"Ah, what?" Miyako looked at Hikari quite cluelessly.  
  
"The whole cafeteria is staring!"  
  
"Oh, opps... didn't notice!"  
  
Hikari sighed. Why couldn't she be more like Miyako and take life easy and one step at a time?  
  
"Hey... Hikari, are you okay?" Miyako looked at her weirdly.  
  
"Erm, yeah!" Hikari smiled, "just first day weariness I guess." She looked around the cafeteria and attempted to change the subject. "Hmmmm... I guess Takeru doesn't have the same lunch period as us this year."  
  
Miyako bit into her sandwich, "oh yeah, tell me, WHY aren't you guys together again?"  
  
"Look, it's not like that between us," Hikari sighed again. "We're only friends."  
  
Miyako rolled her eyes and sipped her apple juice. "The whole school has been waiting for you two to hook up ever since you guys first walked into the school four years ago! Please don't tell me that the whole school waited for nothing. I swear, even some of the seniors last year seemed sad to be leaving the school without seeing you two together."  
  
Hikari blinked. "Sorry..."  
  
Miyako's shoulders slumped. "Maaaa..."  
  
Finding the topic hard to talk over, Hikari quickly tried to change it. "So! Aren't you glad that it's the last year of high school? Next year, you can finally attend the same school as Ken!"  
  
"Not really..." Miyako's eyes went downcast.  
  
"Is Ken not attending Odaiba University? It's one of the best around, even for somebody as smart as him."  
  
"I'm not sure..." Miyako said uncertainly. "Ken's parents firmly stated that they wanted Ken to go to an even better school since he's been getting letters from TokyoU and even some schools in America!"  
  
A silence overcame their table. It seemed that any topic would bring up bad memories.  
  
"I envy your friendship with Ken." Hikari suddenly spoke up.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I mean, you guys are just friends, and nobody expects anything out of you guys. You two don't go to the same school, so there's no rumors flying around whatsoever. Yet you and Ken can still meet up everyday and talk like regular friends."  
  
Miyako's expression changed. "Uh... I guess."  
  
Hikari looked up. "Oh yeah, what about you and Koushiro?" she smiled. "You guys have so much in common, and are really just made for each other!"  
  
"Oh! No!" Miyako waved her hands in front of her in a 'I give up' fashion. "We're only friends too! You know me, I'm the kind of girl to drool after those guys in magazines, hehe! And Koushiro seemed to have somebody else on his mind. He seemed really down to be going to that computer convention in Tokyo all alone."  
  
Hikari smiled at Miyako. "Maybe he wanted to take you."  
  
"EEEEEH?! No way!" Miyako laughed.  
  
Hikari giggled. "You never know!"  
  
Lunch, it seemed, was going to be much more fun with teasing involved.  
  
----------  
  
Koushiro Izumi sat alone in an empty booth in Kiriri's coffee and pastry shop, one of the best in Tokyo. He was deep in thought with his chin in his hands.  
The convention in Tokyo was really great, but he felt like that he was missing something... or someone.  
The first person that came to his mind was Miyako. Of course, she was one of his best friends, and they had so many similar interests. But there was somebody else... at the back of his mind.  
  
"Lily," he murmured to himself.  
  
----- FLASHBACK -----  
  
Koushiro moved knowingly through one of the computer labs in the technology department of Odaiba University. He wasn't nerdy enough to actually want to be here on a weekend, but Koushiro had forgotten some important files for the program he was writting.  
He shivered a bit. The computer lab was in the basement of the tech building, and the day being a bit windy and cold wasn't helping. Koushiro was wearing forest green shorts, a strip tee-shirt, and a pullover sweatshirt.  
  
"Now..." he said to himself, "where are you...?" He was referring to the computer that he had used the day before.  
  
Finding the computer, he pulled out a disk. It wasn't like him to use disks, since it wasn't the safest way to transfer files between computers. He would usually open up a ftp port between his computer and the school's, but today, the school's port was down.  
He sighed, pressed a button to turn the computer on, and sat down to work.  
  
Koushiro was almost done with the moving the needed files onto the disk when he heard footsteps echoing off the walls near the entrance of the lab. He tensed a bit, who would be here on a weekend?  
It would be safe to say here, that as manly as Koushiro wanted to be, he was scared. He ducked down and hid himself behind all the computer moniters. Koushiro wasn't taking any chances here, what if it was some kind of robber?  
  
He heard the door open and more footsteps. Koushiro peeked between one of the moniters, hoping for the worst, and saw a girl. He blinked. Koushiro didn't recognize this girl, was she a new transfer? The girl seemed to be walking through the aisles of computers and just inspecting it, like she was touring the place. She was soon going to walk past Koushiro's aisle, and he thought it best to show himself.  
So Koushiro stepped out from his hiding place and came face to face with the girl.  
  
He didn't get a reaction of quiet surprise like he hoped. Instead, the girl stopped right in her tracks, let out a bloodcurling scream, and slammed her grey shoulderbag right into Koushiro's face.  
He fell back and sprawled against the floor. What was she thinking?!  
  
"Stop! Stop...!" Koushiro held up his hands before she decided to do him further damage. "I mean no harm. Sorry I didn't tell you I was here."  
  
He got up and inspected the girl. She had shoulder length black hair that was pulled halfway up, and bangs covered her face. She was wearing combat boots, jeans, a v-neck shirt with a jacket tied around her waist, and a look of surprise on her face.  
  
"Oh..." she had a timid voice compared to the scream from before, "I'm sorry! I didn't know anybody was here, and you stepped out so suddenly... I hope I didn't hurt you!" She looked at him with a weird expression.  
  
Koushiro held his cheek where her shoulderbag had gotten a little too friendly with. "It's okay." He smiled. "I didn't know who you were, so I hid."  
  
The girl's posture relaxed a little at Koushiro's smile, and she gave him a smile of her own. "The name's Lily Tanaka, pleased to meet you!"  
  
"Koushiro Izumi." Koushiro held out his hand, and Lily took it as they shook hands.  
  
Lily's eyes suddenly brightened as she took in his name. "Izumi, huh? Sounds's familiar... ah! Izumi! I know you! You're Mimi's friend!"  
  
Koushiro raised his eyebrows. "You know Mimi?"  
  
Lily smiled again. "Yep! We're neighbors back in America, she told me alot about her friends here, and I came with her this time since I wanted to check Japan out."  
  
"Aren't you Japanese yourself?" Koushiro queried.  
  
"Yeah, but I was adopted when I was only a baby and taken to America, so I never had a chance to see Japan!"  
  
Koushiro remained silent, she was adopted too?  
  
"Hmmm... Mimi said I would get along with you particularly since you're quite the computer freak," Lily spoke up.  
  
"Are you too?" he couldn't hide the eagerness in his voice.  
  
"Of course!" Lily shot him another smile. "Didn't you feel the sting of the laptop in my shoulderbag?"  
  
----- END FLASHBACK -----  
  
Koushiro shook himself out of his thoughts. The girl, Lily Tanaka, that he had met over the summer was quite an interesting one. They had become fast friends after that incident, and even went to one of Kiriri's chain cafe's in Odaiba afterwards.   
They had talked alot about computers, the newest models and the new programs. But Koushiro also found it quite easy to talk to Lily about life.  
But he never saw her after that. She had left without giving him an e-mail address or phone number. Lily was probably back in America now, she only came with Mimi for a visit anyways.  
  
He sighed. It's probably just nostalgia, he thought to himself. I'm in the same cafe, afterall!  
Koushiro picked up one of the menus lying on the table and looked at the list of coffees and pastries.  
  
"Hi, welcome to Kiriri's!" a voice piped up, causing Koushiro to look up from the menu. "May I take your or-"  
  
His eyes widened. "LILY?!!?"  
  
-----  
  
Hikari stood at one of the back exits to the school gym and looked inside. It was afterschool, and even though basketball tryouts haven't even started, the seniors players were playing a game overlooked by the coach. Some cheerleaders sat in the bleachers, whispering and giggling among themselves.  
  
"MOVE YOUR ASS TAKAISHI!" Coach Tachima's voice bellowed. "HAVE YOU BEEN SLEEPING THE WHOLE SUMMER?!!"  
  
Hikari watched as Takeru glared at the coach, sweat pouring down his face and arms, soaking his shirt. His breath was laboured.  
Takeru obviously didn't like being mocked. As the game started up again, he immediately stole the ball and made a beautiful slam dunk.  
  
A whistle blew. "Okay! Take five everybody!" Coach Tachima said.  
  
Seeing Coach Tachima leave the gym and going into his office, Hikari tentatively stepped into the gym.  
  
"Takeru!"  
  
Hikari's head turned to take in the owner of the voice, and groaned inwardly. The voice belonged to Head Cheerleader Hanazewa Chizumi.  
She watched as Chizumi handed Takeru a bottle of water, and attempted to flirt with him. Takeru could only smile and gulp down water.  
  
Hikari took a step back. The gym suddenly felt hot and musty. And it brought back memories of her summer, and how... She shook her head, there was no need to dwell on that.  
But she had missed him, it had been too long.  
  
Hikari wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she could hide from the world.  
  
"Takeru..."  
  
*****  
  
A/N: WHEEEE~! Does that count as a cliffhanger? And also the thing with Koushiro? ^.^ Does it, does it? hehe... Takeru and Hikari's relationship is really TOO sickenly innocent for its own good, so I'm just trying to spice it up a little! ^-^ With added drama of course. I'm also giving a first hand try at some Kouyako, even though it'll eventually be Kenyako. Hmmm... and what about this Lily character? ^.~ Oh yeah! What does everybody THINK happened over the summer? heeeheee...  
Coming up on chapter 2... Ken and Daisuke appear!  
And! If you like this chappie, then I would very much like reviewsssss~ ^o^  
  
Disclaimer: Digimon does not belong to me. puuuu! 


	2. Questions and Answers

Betraying Innocence  
  
A/N: Wheeee~ ^-^ Thank you for the reviews! Glad everybody liked the fic... now, on with it!  
Oh, and also... is the summary for this fic a little to misleading? -.- Only hints at Takari, when there's other things involved...  
  
Chapter 2: Questions and Answers  
  
"Takeru..."  
  
Hikari stiffened, and realized what she must've looked really weird with her shoulders hunched and arms around herself. She straightened her composure, and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. Might as well talk to him, she thought to herself.  
But before she had a chance to actually step into the gym, Takeru had caught sight of her.  
  
"Hikari!" He jogged slowly up to her with a big smile on his face. "Hi."  
  
She smiled at him. "Hey, just wanted to see what you were doing after school."  
  
"Did you want to go somewhere?" Takeru looked at her with a questioning expression.  
  
"Erm... no," Hikari backed away from him a little. "I actually have plans." It was a lie.  
  
Takeru had a surprised look on his face, "oh..." His expression then turned quite serious. "Listen, Hikari. I don't know why you ignored me after... last time, but I really missed you. And I really think we should talk sometime. In private. Call me... or even better, come over. My mom's out of town on a busiess trip, so we'll be alone." He smiled at her.  
  
"Oi! Hikariiiiii! Takeruuuuu!!"  
  
Both heads turned towards the new voice, and both Hikari and Takeru sighed.  
  
"Daisuke," Hikari turned and smiled at him. "Haven't seen you much over the summer..."  
  
Daisuke had reached the two by now, he had obviously just came back from a game of soccer; looking quite exhausted, but like he had had the best time of his life.  
  
He smiled sheepishly at both of them. "Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it? Damn soccer camp...! But not really, it was quite fun."  
  
"Was that where you were all summer?" Takeru spoke up.  
  
Daisuke nodded in return.  
  
"Takeru!" All three heads turned towards the door opening. It was Chizumi again. She came over quite nonchanatly, and grabbed Takeru's arm without throwing one glance at Hikari or Daisuke. "Come ooooooon," she said in a whining voice, "I want you to see the new cheer I came up with, it's all for you!"  
  
"Eh..." Takeru looked back and forth between Chizumi and the other two.  
  
"Come on Hikari," Daisuke shot Takeru a dirty look, "if you aren't busy, let's go find Miyako and get some drinks at Kiriri's."  
  
"Miyako's meeting up with Ken this afternoon," Hikari replied. "But I would do anything to get out of this heat," she shaded her eyes and looked up at the afternoon sun. "A smoothie would sure help, shall we go?"  
  
"Yeah!" Daisuke grinned at her.  
  
"Bye Takeru!" Hikari waved and started walking off with Daisuke.  
  
"Ah... Hikari! Don't forget about what I said!" Takeru managed to yell out before being pulled into the gym completely by Chimizu.  
  
With a last glance at the gym's back exit, Hikari turned around and followed Daisuke off school campus. "I won't..." she said very quietly to herself. Her eyes looked dark and lost.  
  
And despite what Hikari was telling herself not to do, she knew that that night, she would be standing in front of Takeru's door, in her best getup, ringing the doorbell.  
  
----------  
  
Koushiro stared in shock at his... at his... well, at his waitress! Who obviously had the same appearance as a mysterious friend from the summer.  
  
"Lily... what are you doing here?"  
  
The opened mouthed waitress closed and opened her mouth and tried to speak, looking like a goldfish blowing bubbles into the water. Realizing that it was impossible, she turned around and attempted to flee.  
  
"Wait!" Koushiro grabbed her wrist in a firm grip before she could take another step.  
  
She turned around and glared at him. "Don't think I don't have that shoulderbag hidden up my sleeve somewhere, I could still whip you good."  
  
Koushiro chuckled. "She talks!" he said in a fakely surprised way. "And I doubt it, you don't seem to have any sleeves." Saying this, he looked over Lily in her sleeveless maid-like uniform that would only belong to Kiriri's waitress.  
  
Lily looked down and averted eye contact with Koushiro. "What do you want?"  
  
"Take a seat." He waved his hand over the seat across from him.  
  
Lily sighed and sat down. "I'm not suppose to interact much with customers," she said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Don't be long," Koushiro said breezely. "I just want to know why you're here when you should be in America, living next to wherever Mimi lives, and..." he looked at his watch, "...in your bed sleeping, since it's about 4 am over there."  
  
"Well, remember when we went to the Kiriri's in Odaiba?" Lily shot him a smile. "Well, it was my first time ever going there, and I fell in love with it sooooo." She waved her arms dramatically in the air as if this was a life changing event. "And when it came time for me to leave, I saw all the Kiriri's in Tokyo and saw that one of them was hiring, and oh-so-miraclously, I got the job! Of course I had to stay here, I get discounts with free coffee too!"  
  
Koushiro sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, it was quite obviously a lie to cover up something, but it was no use trying to beat it out of her right now. "Do you already have a place to live?"  
  
"Uh... no. I've been aparment hunting these days!" Lily stuck up one finger in the air, and said this. "Kiriri's has such good pay! And I can actually afford to pay for my hotel room for the next couple of weeks."  
  
Koushiro started at her. "That's it. You're coming back to Odaiba with me."  
  
"WHAT?!" Lily slammed both her hands down on the table. "No. Way."  
  
"No way is right. There is no way I'm leaving some girl who's unfamiliar with Japan in the midsts of Tokyo by herself. And you don't even have a place for yourself either! You're coming back with me."  
  
"No I'm not." Lily retorted.  
  
"Yes you are."  
  
"No I'm not."  
  
"Yes you are."  
  
"No I'm not."  
  
"Yes you are."  
  
"No I'm not."  
  
"Yes you are."  
  
"No I'm not."  
  
"Yes you are."  
  
"No I'm not."  
  
"Yes you are."  
  
This went on for another 15 minutes before Lily's boss came over and fired her.  
  
Koushiro had felt happy that he had won this fight. But that was before Lily sunk a fist into his face that would result in a black eye for many weeks.  
  
----------  
  
Miyako walked down the hallways of her school. It was Friday, and she was extra bouncy and extra happy. Her get-together with Ken on Monday helped alot. He had given her the good news that his parents were slowly changing their minds about his university choices, since they wanted him close to home. Miyako had been estastic when she heard the news. She wasn't about to lose one of her best friends. She was going to meet up with Ken again on Saturday to help him fill out an application to OdaibaU.  
Hikari and Takeru both seemed much happier also. They had both seemed pretty down on the first day of school... Hikari during lunch, and Takeru during World History class.  
And what was better, Koushiro was coming back on Sunday! She had missed her other good friend alot.  
Life, as it seemed, was slowly settling back down and going just the way Miyako wanted it to.  
  
-----  
  
"Ughh... who could it be at this hour?" Miyako sat up groggily at the sound of a knock at the door and looked at her alarm clock. 1:37AM, it read. Cursing under her breath, Miyako slowly got out of the warm and comfort of her bed and made her way towards the front door. Her younger siblings were out at a friend's house for the night, and her parents slept like rocks. So Miyako walked lightly through her family's apartment, careful not to wake her parents. She stepped up to the door and peeked through the peephole. Letting out a gasp, Miyako quickly stepped back and opened the door.  
  
"Hikari! Wh-what are you doing here? And at this hour!"  
  
Hikari looked at Miyako with a sad expression in her eyes. Her hair was tussled and messy, but she was wearing a cute outfit that seemed like she had been out partying or something. Miyako examined Hikari's clothes that consisted of faded flared jeans, strappy sandals, and a white half-sleeved button-down shirt with a collar that clung to her body in all the right places. The shirt seemed to be hastly buttoned, as the top two remained opened, and the others all seemed to be bottoned on the wrong hole. Hikari's hair was held up away from her face with little clips that were falling out.  
  
"Miyako..." Hikari said in a small voice. "Do you mind if I stay the night?"  
  
"Sure, sure," Miyako stepped back and allowed Hikari into the apartment. "But you had better explain yourself."  
  
-----  
  
Miyako reached into the fridge and brought out two cans of soda and two packs of cream cake. She lightly balanced them on her hands, and started walking back to her room. At that moment, the answer machine beeped. Her parents always turned the ring off at night, so Miyako had no idea who was calling.  
  
"God, this night just gets better and better," she muttered to herself under her breath. Life was totally NOT going the way she wanted it to.  
  
"Miyako?" the answering machine started recording a whispered voice. "It's me, Koushiro. I know your parents turn off the ring at night, so I'm not really bothering you, right? Sorry about this late-night call, but I've been driven up the wall here by a friend of mine... she refuses to talk to me about anything and I've really been dying to tell you about the convention. Yes, even your answering machine. Oh yeah, I'm coming back a day early, so maybe I'll see you tomorrow night! Anyways, about the convention, I saw the new model for..." Koushiro went on to ramble about the various new computer models he saw and something else about the new friend of his.  
  
Miyako sighed, she couldn't really pick up the phone with her hands full, so she ignored Koushiro's message and walked into her room. Hikari needed her more at this time.  
  
"Alright, explain." She looked down at Hikari sitting in a pair of pajamas borrowed from her, and handed her a soda and cream cake.  
  
Hikari sighed. "Miyako... Takeru and I, well..."  
  
*****  
  
A/N: MWUAHAHAAHAHA! clifffffiiiie! ::dances around:: If you would like to know what happens, REVIEW! ^o^ What WERE Takeru and Hikari doing? Taking drugs? Having sex? Baking cakes? Watching porno? Partying all night?  
Coming up in chapter 3... Ken actually talks, and is not just thought about by Miyako! XD; And you WILL learn about what has been going on between Takeru and Hikari!   
HAR HAR HAR... but who knows how long it will take me to write it, give the author some inspiration, and review please!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. 


	3. Twists and Turns

Betraying Innocence  
  
A/N: erm... x.x; maybe I AM ruining the innocence of the Takeru and Hikari relationship... blah, whatever! XD; Also, I'm gonna make Kiriri's my 'official' hangout place for this fic! You need one in every fic! ^.~  
3 the reviews and reviewers! ::huggys:: Keep them coming! ~_____~ or I will be even more OUT of inspiration!  
  
Chapter 3: Twists and Turns  
  
"Miyako... Takeru and I, well..." Hikari paused, trying to word it the right way. "Takeru and I, we really aren't... just friends." She hung her head. "I lied to you... we actually have a pretty close relationship, very close. I was over at his place tonight."  
  
Miyako gaped at Hikari. "Y-you guys, h-have be-been..." she trailed off, letting the rest of the sentence fall into silence.  
  
Hikari looked up and nodded.  
  
Miyako gulped. "How long?"  
  
"It started a couple of weeks after school ended this summer, I went over to Takeru's place since we decided to fill out our college applications together... and it just happened." Hikari looked down at her hands. "And we just kept meeting every night; his mom was always out. It... it was so real. A rush, and addictive. And being the summer, there were no school and no rumors, and everything was perfect..." She took a deep breath. "But then, I skipped a period. And I guess it really hit us then how real this was and how many bad things could come out of it. So we stopped."  
  
"And... when school started again, you two..." Miyako stared at Hikari.  
  
"Yes... I swore that I wouldn't, but I couldn't help myself," Hikari let out a dry sob, "it's all my fault... I caused so much commotion."  
  
"What? Is this what happened tonight?" Miyako asked.  
  
Hikari nodded. "Yeah, I was over at Takeru's again. But he forgot that Yamato was going to come over and pick up something he left there the last time he visited, and he caught us..." She drew in a shakey breath. "It was so chaotic... Yamato totally freaked, and then he called Taichi and told him everything. Being him, Taichi totally overreacted and started shouting his head off at Takeru over the phone and how he was going to rip his head off and stuff. And Taichi had Daisuke on hold at the time, so Daisuke basically heard the whole thing. After Taichi told me to come home and hung up, Daisuke called and he also screamed alot and threatened to rip off other parts of Takeru..." Hikari buried her face in her hands. "It's all my fault Miyako! I didn't mean for anybody to find out! And I was too scared to go home, so I wandered around until I got to your place."  
  
"Hey..." Miyako patted Hikari on the shoulder. "It's alright... I'm sure both Daisuke and Taichi were overreacting. It was really bound to happen sooner or later... I mean, everybody thought you two were going to end up together anyway."  
  
"But not this way, Miyako... not this way." Hikari started crying, trying to stifle her sobs.  
  
"Hikari... it's going to be okay," Miyako gave her friend a sideways hug and handed her a tissue. "It's really late, why don't you get some sleep?"  
  
Rubbing her now blood-shot eyes, Hikari gave a little nod.  
  
-----  
  
Miyako walked down an aisle of boothes at Kiriri's, surveying the people in each booth, looking to find the right one. It was Saturday, she had just managed to convince Hikari to go home minutes ago, and had ran all the way to the Kiriri's where she was suppose to meet Ken. It was a 5 block run, and she was out of breath. Seeing a familiar dark haired person sitting in one of the last boothes, Miyako smiled and slid in across from him.  
  
"Hi!" She said in a somewhat breathy voice. "Sorry I'm late."  
  
Ken Ichijouji looked up from his mug of coffee. "Miyako! You startled me..."  
  
Miyako grinned at him. "Sorry, I guess you were deep in thought... ne? You sure looked like it."  
  
Ken looked down again. "Yeah..."  
  
Miyako leaned forward with concern etched across her face. "What's wrong?" She really didn't need more bad news plaguing her life.  
  
"I... I got another letter," Ken looked up and stared into Miyako's eyes. Something flickered across them, and Miyako knew that this letter was no playful post from a friend.  
  
"It is from a college?" Miyako said in a hesitant voice, afraid of hearing the answer.  
  
Ken nodded. "It's from America. This university in Masschusetts, they want me."  
  
Miyako gasped, putting a hand across her mouth, a look of pain flickered across her face for a spilt second. "M- MIT?! That's like the second best technology school in America!"  
  
"Yes, MIT. My parents was hoping I would be accepted into that school... ever since I got that stupid award for the computer program I wrote last year. The- they're making me go." Ken reached across the table and placed his hand over Miyako's. "But I can't... I'm not leaving all my friends here. I can just go to TokyoU, I think that'll be good enough for my parents."  
  
Miyako stared at Ken's hand covering hers. "B-but what happened to the fact that they wanted you to be closer to home?"  
  
Ken sighed. "I don't know... they go through all these phases, and even though my parents love me, they're really making me into a basket-case over this college thing."  
  
"But... in the end, it's your go, isn't it? It's your choice whether or not you go." Miyako said in a eager tone.  
  
Ken curved his lips upward in a small smile that didn't seem to reach his kind yet sad eyes. "I guess... do you want me go to, Miyako?"  
  
"I..."  
  
-----  
  
Miyako sighed and kicked a stone on the sidewalk. In the end, she had just told Ken that she believed in him and would trust him to make the right choice. And that her decision wouldn't matter that much. Despite Ken trying to argue to that, Miyako had came up with a fake excuse and got away quickly. There seemed to be an ache in her chest that didn't want to go away. It had been there since Ken told her about the college thing.  
It was so hard to take in the fact that she was one of the Ken Ichijouji's best friends. Just years ago, he was the famous boy genious on television that you could only drool over. Even after he was released from the dark side and the dark spore was taken out of him, Ken still remained quite smart and an excellent athlete.   
And now, he was asking her, Miyako Inoue, for advice. Was this world screwed or what?  
Miyako snuck a glance at her watch. Ah, I think it's almost time for Koushiro's bus to arrive. I'll go surprise him and see this new friend of his. With this thought, she turned on her heels and walked in the direction of the bus station.  
  
-----  
  
Hikari quietly turned the key, and opened the door to her family's apartment. She quickly took off her sandals and slipped into her slippers, careful not to make a sound. It seemed that her parents and Taichi were either out or resting. She gave a sigh of relief and made her way into the living room.  
  
A cough made her freeze in her steps.  
  
Hikari turned and saw her older brother, Taichi Yagami, sitting on the couch. An unreadalbe expression was across his face, but it made the blood in Hikari's veins freeze, and she knew she was going to be in it.  
  
Hikari turned towards him and hung her head. "Ta-Taichi."  
  
With the look on his face as cool as ever, Taichi waved his arm to the armchair behind Hikari and in front of him. "Have a seat."  
  
Hikari sat down tentatively.  
  
Taichi stared straight at her. "So."  
  
Hikari shuffled around on her seat uneasily. "So..."  
  
"Innocent little Hikari," Taichi taunted. "Runs around sleeping with guys, not caring that her family's worried about her. Mom and dad even asked me about you, you were always spending the night at a friends house... or so they thought. And then you started disappearing again every night now that school started... sometimes coming back around midnight, sometimes not coming back at all. School projects, sleepovers, mom and dad thought, and WHAT I THOUGHT!!!!"  
  
Hikari cringed. Why was Taichi so protective of her? So protective it came to the point of him hurting her... on the inside. "Tai-Taichi... it was only Takeru. I wasn't sleeping around. I wasn't..." she said. Tears filled her eyes, and her vision blurred a little.  
  
Taichi was now standing and pacing the length of floor in front of Hikari. He waved his arm and dismissed her statement.  
  
"Do you know what could've happened?! Hikari, you're a smart, beautiful, and kind girl. You have your whole future in front of you. Are you going to ruin it just so you could get an inch of feeling by sleeping with some guy?!"  
  
"It's just not SOME GUY!" Hikari raised her voice a bit to get it through to her brother. "It-it's Takeru! Your best friend's little brother! The guy who saved my life so many times in the digital world, the guy who watched over me, the guy... the guy I love!"  
  
Taichi's eyes blazed. "You love him, eh?" He shook his head. "You're too young for love... the only thing that can come out of this is YOU getting pregnant!" Taichi let out a deep breath. "I'm not going to tell mom and dad about this, but I'm putting a stop to this once and for all." He pointed a finger at her. "You're only to see Takeru at school and the two of you will have a friendship-based relationship. You will come right home after school and not go anywhere else unless I'm sure it's important. If I find out anything between you two happened that's not suppose to... I WILL tell mom and dad, and they WILL have a more strict punishment!"  
  
"Why?! Why are you doing this Taichi??! We used protection...!" Hikari looked up defiantly at her big brother even though tears were streaming down her face. "And I started taking birth control too..." She glared at him, "And you would never understand love! Just because you screwed up with Sora doesn't mean love doesn't exsist!"  
  
A strange expression passed over Taichi's face and Hikari knew she had hit a weak spot. She watched as he sat back down on the couch and stared at her blankly. "What happened with Sora has NOTHING to do with this! Hikari, you're my little sister, I don't want you to go through the same thing I did. I love you, I don't want you to be hurt."  
  
Hikari looked at him straight in the eyes, unshed tears shining in her eyes, and already shed ones making a path down her cheeks. "If you do love me, if I am your little sister, give me freedom, give me the freedom to love the man I want."  
  
*****  
  
A/N: -.- god this chap ending was so cheesy. hehe... sorry this chap took so long to get out! I was really out of inspiration, so I dragged out all my Digimon tapes and watched them over! XD; Also, don't think Taichi's mean! ;.;! I really like him as a character, and he's just protective of Hikari... x.x; I didn't mean to write him like a big bad meanie if he looks like it. ^^;  
Coming up in chapter 4... let's see if Takeru and Hikari can actually keep their hands off of each other! And what of Miyako and Ken? Will romance bloom? Or will Miyako run to Koushiro? But what about Lily?   
And waiiiiiit, what's with this Taichi and Sora thing? Should I write more about that? 3~ But beware, for I AM a Sorato fan! XD; I was going to have implied Sorato, but maybe this calls for something more...  
  
Disclaimer: yeah... it DOESN'T belong to me... 


End file.
